Collapsed Miami tower block to be completely razed

FAMILY members of people missing in the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in Miami have been told that demolition workers are going to bring down the remainder of the building.

Worries have intensified over the past week that the damaged structure could fall down on its own, endangering the fire and rescue crews below and complicating the search for victims.

No one has been rescued from the rubble since June 24, when the building collapsed.

Fire rescue assistant fire chief Raide Jadallah told family members on Saturday that the building would be brought down “as soon as possible”. But he cautioned that there “may be some hiccups”.

A follow-up meeting was held to finalise details of the demolition, which could be a precarious operation as experts enter the building to bore into the structure to install explosives.

Concerns that the still-standing portion could tumble have curtailed the search and rescue operation in areas close to that section.

Shifts detected by monitors last Thursday morning prompted a 15-hour suspension of the entire search until engineers determined it was safe to restart.

Mr Jadallah said the remnants of the demolished building would be removed immediately after, with the intention of giving rescuers access to parts of the garage area that is a focus of the search.

Such access could give rescuers a clearer picture of the voids that might exist in the rubble.

The approach of Tropical Storm Elsa also raises concerns that strong winds possible in South Florida by early today could further destabilise the standing portion of the towers.

The confirmed death toll from the collapse of the building stood at 24 on Saturday.

Officials reduced the number of missing from 145 to 126 after duplicate names were eliminated and some residents reported missing turned up safe.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has said officials will resume the search and rescue effort “as soon as we are cleared”.

Some families had asked to be able to return to the building to retrieve personal belongings, but they will not be allowed to do so.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said it is “too unsafe” to allow them to go inside.

He said: “I don’t think there’s any way you can let somebody go up in that building given the shape that it’s in now.”